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Rank extends partnership to support unpaid Carers

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Rank is delighted to announce that we have extended our groundbreaking partnership with Carers Trust into 2021.

This hugely successful partnership has had a major impact in supporting Carers Trust’s work with hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers right across the UK. Since its inception more than six years ago in February 2014, Rank colleagues and customers have raised a very impressive £2.6 million for the charity, with the money raised benefitting over 12,000 unpaid carers. Funds have typically been provided to adult carers in the form of grants, distributed through Carers Trust’s network of over 120 local carers charities.

These grants can be life changing for carers struggling to provide round-the-clock care for members of their families experiencing long-term illness, disabilities, poor mental health or substance addiction. The grants provide money for essential household items that would otherwise remain unaffordable. Money for new beds, cookers and washing machines – or to pay for hospital visits – can have a major impact in making the lives of unpaid carers much more manageable.

From the very beginning of the partnership, Rank’s employees and customers have enthusiastically embraced the fundraising drive for unpaid carers. This commitment has seen an impressive £300,000 raised in the last twelve months alone.  And since early April this year, Meccabingo.com has increased its contribution to Carers Trust, raising over £77,500.

Back in December our Mecca colleagues launched a special pre-Christmas fundraising drive that raised an impressive £39,000 over the festive season.  And in addition to fundraising, colleagues also worked hard to bring some Christmas cheer to carers.  This included Mecca venues inviting unpaid carers from their local area in for a much-deserved Christmas lunch and a break away from their caring roles. One of these was Mecca Knotty Ash near Liverpool.  They laid on an extra special day including a pampering and spa treatment session for 12 very deserving carers from Sefton Carers Centre.

We also gifted our sponsorship logo placement on Ipswich Town FC’s kit to Carers Trust for the 2020/21 season. The shirt is a special commemorative edition, celebrating forty years since the club won the UEFA Cup Final and is bound to attract a lot of attention, not just in Ipswich but across the UK!

Most impressively of all, colleagues from across the Group have continued to fundraise and support unpaid carers throughout the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown. Even though traditional fundraising events like sponsored runs have not been possible due to the lockdown, we have shown how money can still be raised with challenges like ‘Walk the UK’ which saw team members walking the equivalent of Land’s End to John O’Groats while sticking to their local streets and parks.

Welcoming Rank’s extension of the partnership, Carers Trust’s CEO, Gareth Howells, said:

“This is fantastic news for Carers Trust and all the unpaid carers across the UK we are working with to make their caring responsibilities more manageable. On behalf of those unpaid carers, and everyone at Carers Trust, I’d like to offer our heartfelt thanks to Rank’s employees and customers for all their generosity and tireless commitment to going the extra mile to support unpaid carers.

“And coming as it does within the context of a global pandemic and an increasingly challenging funding environment, today’s announcement could not be more timely. Such sustained support for unpaid carers is also particularly important given the UK’s ageing population and the increasing pressure being put on health and social care budgets.”

Rank chief executive, John O’Reilly, said:

“I am really pleased with the fantastic support that Rank’s colleagues and customers have shown Carers Trust over the last year.  It’s extraordinary to see that, despite the difficulties we’ve faced over the last five months with our Mecca and Grosvenor venues closed and over 7,000 colleagues having to be on furlough, we have continued with our efforts to raise money and have now topped £300,000 this year.  This is an outstanding amount of which everyone should be very proud.

“There has never been a more important time to be raising money to support carers and the amazing work of the Carers Trust. We are committed to continuing this high level of support with our colleagues across the Group inventing ever more ingenious ways of raising money for this marvellous charity. Thank you to all our colleagues and our customers for your amazing efforts and long may it continue.”

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Movers and Shakers – Beyond integration: Why system interoperability is the real game changer

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Movers and Shakers” is a dynamic monthly column dedicated to exploring the latest trends, developments, and influential voices in the iGaming industry. Powered by GameOn and supported by HIPTHER, this op-ed series delves into the key players, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes shaping the future of online gaming. Each month, industry experts offer their insights and perspectives, providing readers with in-depth analysis and thought-provoking commentary on what’s driving the iGaming world forward. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or new to the scene, “Movers and Shakers” is your go-to source for staying ahead in the rapidly evolving iGaming landscape.

 

Dominic Le Garsmeur (CPO) at Fincore, says integrations without a clear interoperability strategy add technical and operational debt, hampering future growth.

System integrations are hugely important for any online sportsbook or casino, adding capabilities and features to drive growth.  But integrating without considering and optimising interoperability can do more harm than good by adding technical and operational debt to the business and ultimately hitting growth.

Integrating without interoperability pushes information from one system to another, but the connection itself has no intelligence. It’s a mechanical link, and the systems remain fundamentally separate, each operating with its own distinct rules. Any real understanding, like why that data was sent or what other processes it should trigger, is lost, creating data silos that are technically connected but strategically disconnected.

System interoperability provides the intelligence the connection lacks, establishing a shared operational model for the platform so all systems can act in concert. Most importantly, it creates a future-proof foundation, allowing new capabilities and features to be added with agility and confidence, turning the platform into an engine for innovation rather than a source of technical debt.

Before looking at why interoperability is more powerful than integration, and how companies can solve it, it’s important to understand how disconnects between platforms and systems occur in the first place.

 

Why does disconnection happen?

Operators acquire their tech stacks in different ways, but usually through a combination of building, inheriting legacy tech, acquisition and third-party providers. This often leads to platform and system silos with little to no compatibility between them.

Ultimately, disconnected systems drag down delivery and without interoperability, companies waste time reconciling platforms and tech rather than advancing forward.

 

Interoperability is more powerful than integration

Integration often means linking systems at a basic level, but interoperability ensures that data, logic and workflows are aligned and extensible.

It’s critical to have a strategic data layer and shared data structures that enables standardising of data representations, aligning systems at the logic level, not just the interface, and building an architecture designed to unify and extend across platforms.

In complex industries such as gaming, where tech plays such an important role in the user experience and the trust consumers have in brands, system interoperability is the only way to scale with control. In short, integration links, interoperability empowers.

 

Why interoperability is such a challenge in the gaming industry

Each integration is unique. Why? Because the combination of legacy systems, niche vendors and varying regulations in markets across the world means there is no blueprint for operators to follow.

Remember, most operator platforms are now decades old and were not built with modularity or openness in mind. And even those developing new platforms and systems from scratch often lack the in-house capability to design for interoperability from the get-go.

 

The risk of not achieving interoperability

When systems don’t interoperate, things start to fall apart. For example, delivery can grind to a halt, with every new feature launch or market entry becoming a grind. There are compliance risks, too, especially when it comes to fractured data and an increased risk of errors and audit gaps.

Then, of course, there is the poor player experience that will be provided. This could be anything from glitchy games to failed deposits and even the wrong marketing communications being sent to the wrong player cohorts.

It also impacts an operator’s ability to develop and innovate, as IT and tech become reactive rather than proactive. And in such a competitive market, this can see a brand quickly fall behind the curve.

 

How to solve the interoperability conundrum

Ensuring interoperability is a complex and comprehensive undertaking, but there are some high-level things operators can do.

This starts with standardising critical data flows and logic, not just the interface. Remember, a single view of data is what ensures all the platforms, systems and networks communicate with each other in the same language.

Operators should also design for change, as architecture must support long-term growth and plug-and-play modularity. In most cases, it’s best to invest in strategic partners, not just tools.

 

How strategic partners can help

Partners such as Fincore can provide the strategic clarity operators need, defining what interoperability looks like for them and based on their business goals. We also bring execution muscle – we don’t just design it, we build it.

The right partner also brings compliance confidence. Companies such as Fincore are highly experienced when it comes to interoperability, and everything we do stands up to regulatory scrutiny.

This can be seen in our proven track record for delivering interoperability for everything from complex migrations to global-scale game roll-outs.

 

A real-world example of interoperability

Fincore worked with a US-based gaming services provider whose legacy systems across its land-based venues had created silos in payments, loyalty and in-resort experiences.

The solution we proposed saw us design and deliver a digital wallet that became the unified digital layer across the physical properties. We also integrated deeply with multiple rigid legacy systems to provide secure and compliant interoperability at scale.

The result? We delivered on time, unlocked a new digital product line and created a long-term tech foundation for the company to continue to build on.

When it comes to integrations, you can always wire systems together, but if you don’t do it in the right way, you get chaos. Interoperability is about creating order within platforms and systems, which in turn allows for unlimited scaling and growth.

And that’s why interoperability is the real game-changer.

The post Movers and Shakers – Beyond integration: Why system interoperability is the real game changer appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Yaspa and VIALET partner to bolster pan-European payments for iGaming clients

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London fintech Yaspa, an award-winning provider of real-time payment, account verification and intelligence solutions for the iGaming industry, has announced its partnership with VIALET, the European-licensed electronic money institution. The collaboration significantly enhances Yaspa’s payment ecosystem, providing iGaming operators and platforms across the UK and Europe with expanded access to instant, multi-currency payment solutions.

The partnership builds on VIALET’s deep experience as a European fintech, offering specialised business accounts and a full suite of payment services designed for digital businesses. For Yaspa’s customers – particularly in the high-growth iGaming sector – these accounts provide a secure, compliant way to hold and manage funds, including those deposited and withdrawn through Yaspa’s instant bank payment solutions.

The result is a powerful, integrated offering that is quickly becoming a preferred choice for operators seeking seamless, multi-currency support for real-time transactions. By combining instant pay-ins and payouts with robust business banking infrastructure, the collaboration delivers a streamlined, scalable solution for managing money across the UK and Europe.

‘A single, powerful platform’

Yaspa CEO James Neville said: “Our mission at Yaspa is to provide iGaming businesses with a single, powerful platform to manage their payments intelligently.

“Partnering with VIALET not only expands our instant payment capabilities across Europe, but also reinforces our commitment to building a resilient, multi-partner ecosystem that offers our clients unparalleled choice and reliability.”

Ioannis Chatziathanasiou, Chief Business Development Officer from VIALET, said: “At VIALET, we are committed to delivering secure, fast, and scalable payment solutions tailored to the needs of digital-first industries. Partnering with Yaspa allows us to extend our reach and offer even greater value to merchants across Europe who demand flexibility, intelligence, and speed in their payment infrastructure.”

Yaspa’s instant bank payments are available across the UK and Europe, ready to integrate seamlessly into the payment systems of both current and future VIALET account holders who want to provide a real-time payment option that is quick to implement and simple for players to use.

The post Yaspa and VIALET partner to bolster pan-European payments for iGaming clients appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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FBM® returns to OIGA with new milestones and high-performing slots

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FBM® is gearing up for another impactful participation at the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Conference & Tradeshow (OIGA), taking place from July 14 to 16 at the OKC Convention Center in Oklahoma City. This year, FBM will join Delta Gaming Solutions at Booth 918, presenting four standout slot products that represent the latest chapter in its expansion in the US gaming market.

FBM’s presence at OIGA 2025 comes at a strategic time, following a series of key accomplishments in the past 12 months. The company has deepened its market penetration by installing games in several new casinos across the country. The rollout of a broader catalog of titles reflects the operators’ growing confidence in FBM’s value proposition.

At this year’s OIGA expo, FBM will exhibit four titles that speak directly to enhancing player engagement and operator’s performance:

  • Ji Hǎo Link™ game series includes four titles: Golden Lóng™, Fortunate Héping™, Eternal Fènghuáng™ and Great Weiyan™. The powerful dragon, the wise turtle, the eternal phoenix, and the brave white tiger promise to deliver thrilling gaming sessions in a mechanic where the common bonus triggered by the Jí Hǎo Link™ pagoda takes the spotlight.
  • Jí Hǎo Link™ Spirits is the perfect choice for players seeking thrilling, long-lasting, and entertaining gaming sessions. The unpredictability of the Spirits feature, which can reward players with free “flights” and big wins during the main game or free spins, builds excitement around the Golden Lóng™ Spirits and Eternal Fènghuáng™ Spirits titles.
  • Xing Fú Fortune Money Trees™ brings excitement, suspense, and adrenaline to any casino floor with game mechanics based on the Prosperity, Strength, and Fortune accumulators. The Xing Fú Fortune Money Trees bonus can offer up to seven different game experiences and is the gateway to collect the four available jackpots present on this slot theme.
  • Croc’s Lock™ is a 30-line slot with an exciting storyline and compelling features. Super Croc is this gaming experience’s hero working with 15 independent reels, where the Extra Coins and Extra Spins accumulators lead player through an entertaining journey.

OIGA is one of the most important tradeshows in the North American gaming calendar, and FBM views the 2025 edition as the ideal platform to strengthen partnerships and expand operator relationships in this key market. Mike Medlin, FBM’s General Manager of Sales & Operations, together with Emily Snow, Delta Gaming Solutions sales director, will welcome and engage directly with all tribal operators, agents, and industry stakeholders trying FBM’s slots and seeking competitive, high-performing gaming solutions.

This momentum underlines the brand’s ongoing mission to deliver top-tier gaming experiences to U.S. players, especially within the tribal sector. OIGA 2025 also sets the stage for FBM’s larger showcase coming in October at G2E Las Vegas, an event that will mark the global reveal of new games and innovations designed to uplift the gaming experience in North America. Visit Booth 918 at OIGA 2025 and try FBM’s slots.

The post FBM® returns to OIGA with new milestones and high-performing slots appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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